


A New Life

by MrNinjaPineapple



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: AU, F/M, Family, Feel-good, Feels, Love, One Shot, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-04
Updated: 2016-11-04
Packaged: 2018-08-29 01:16:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8470087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrNinjaPineapple/pseuds/MrNinjaPineapple
Summary: A year after the destruction of the Institute, Nora has settled down in her old home in Sanctuary. Together, with the people she loves, she celebrates her birthday.AU inspired by 'Bleeding Steel' by ScorpioSkies - all OCs belong to her.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ScorpioSkies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorpioSkies/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Bleeding Steel](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5755459) by [ScorpioSkies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScorpioSkies/pseuds/ScorpioSkies). 



Nora woke to find a clumsily-wrapped parcel waiting on the kitchen counter.

Standing in the hallway, she blinked at it a few times in her sleep-addled state, wide-eyed and confused, before realising what day it was.

“Happy Birthday, Mum” came a cheery voice from behind her.

She turned to see a Mr Handy robot hovering out from the washing room, his three eyestalks beaming at her with mechanical glee.

“Thanks, Codsworth” she replied, hugging the chrome shell of the robot, the metal slightly warm from a night in his charging socket. His claw appendage gently rested on her back as he returned the embrace.

“I’ve got you a little something too,” he said, releasing her. He spoke the strangely, as if he was reciting words from memory. ‘Perhaps you should check… _the holotape player_!’

She smiled and thanked him again.

_Subtlety had never been one of Codsworth’s skills._

She walked over to the holotape player, looking around with a smile on her face. As her foot touched the carpet in the living room, she heard shuffling coming from the kitchen behind her but continued on towards the window.

“Now!”

The call sounded and Danse mantled the counter, landing with a perfectly executed combat roll as he surveyed the small room, his eyes darting left and right. Burke however, chose the path of least resistance and jumped from his cover and began scurrying around the room towards her.

They ended up standing at the edge of the living room, staring at Nora with small smiles on their faces.

“Burke, present your gift” said Danse, his request sounding more like an order.

Burke stepped towards her and held out a silver tray, laden with an assortment of breakfast.

“Happy Birthday” he said, his usual grin lighting up his face.

She examined the plates and saw crispy squirrel bits, thin slices of Cram, razorgrain porridge, and a large mirelurk queen steak, amongst many others. A Nuka-Cola Quantum gave the platter a blue glow.

“Thanks, Burke” she said, overwhelmed at the sheer amount of food presented to her.

“We wanted to give you breakfast in bed,” he replied, placing down the platter on the small coffee table. “…but you woke up.”

He gave another one of his sly grins and hugged her. She wrapped her arms around him and planted a kiss on the top of his head, noting how thick his hair had grown back as her chin brushed the coppery curls.

As she released him, Danse stepped forward, presenting a bouquet of roses from behind his back. He handed them to her and stepped back, his hand clasped behind his back as if he was ready for a formal inspection.

Nora looked at the roses in her hand, seeing their soft petals curling slightly as they had just begun to wither. She could smell the sweet fragrance and a rush of memories surges through her – her high school prom, the first Valentine’s Day with Nate, the surprise party after she had graduated and received her law degree.

“You don’t like them” said Danse plainly, his cheeks beginning to grow red.

“No… no, I _love_ them!” she replied. “Roses… _how_ did you get them?”

At this, the large soldier merely smiled, tapping the side of his nose. Nora’s brow furrowed as she thought for a moment, staring at the deep red flowers.

“Neriah!” she said suddenly, smiling as she saw Danse’s eyes light up. “That woman is a genius!”

A silence crept between them and she decided to break it by planting a kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you, Danse” she said, her face still close to his.

He cleared his throat and nodded briskly, muttering his reply before joining Burke in the kitchen.

She watched him walk away and thought about their past.

It had been almost a year since the three of them had left the Brotherhood. After they had succeeded in their mission to destroy the Institute, Maxson had given them his blessing and allowed them to be together.

At first, things were the same. They had worked together, teaching Burke and aiding the Brotherhood in their protection of the Commonwealth.

It all changed when Burke was injured.

On a routine mission, they were surprised by a super mutant behemoth and were split up. Eventually, Nora and Danse were able to bring down the creature, but the price had been costly. Burke had been badly injured and they rushed him back to the Prydwen for treatment immediately.

The surgery had taken an entire day and the long wait had tormented them both. Thankfully, he survived and made a full recovery in a relatively short space of time, much to their relief.

As Burke recuperated however, they had decided that his safety was paramount, and Nora had chosen to leave the Brotherhood to care for him in Sanctuary. Forced into a decision between everything he had ever known and everything he had ever wanted, a torn Danse made the impossible choice to join them in Sanctuary.

Adjusting to ‘civilian life’, as he called it, had been difficult at first, but they had all settled into their new home, each to their own extent, and had become the strangest family the Commonwealth had seen.

_A mischievous orphan, an emotionally repressed soldier, and a woman out of time. Someone should write a story about us._

She smiled at her thoughts and went over to the parcel on the counter.

It had been wrapped in shiny, blue paper with far too much tape for a box of its size, with small scraps taped on to cover places where the wrapping had failed to reach.

_He can reload a laser pistol in a second flat, but can’t wrap a present?_

She smiled as she reached for the parcel, picking it up to feel its negligible weight in her hands. She shook it.

“That…” said Danse as he came up and took the parcel from her. “…is for tonight.”

“Tonight?” she asked, clearly confused. “But I thought everyone was coming over?”

“I… persuaded them to come tomorrow” he said evasively.

“You persuaded them?” she asked sarcastically. “Kells, Maxson, Clarke, Ingram, Brandis, Haylen and Rhys?”

“Nora-” he said, attempting to interject. It didn’t work.

“Nick, Ellie, Vadim, Deacon, Preston… _Piper?!_ _You_ convinced _Piper_ not to come round for my birthday?”

She raised an eyebrow questioningly.

“I told everyone that tonight was just… for us” he said.

Before she could reply, an all-too familiar _meow_ sounded from beside her leg and she jumped away, staring with a fierce intensity at the cat.

_Grogcat._

It purred softly as it wrapped itself around Danse’s legs. He bent down to stroke it and was greeted by a long contented purr.

He went back to the kitchen to help Burke and turned the dial on the radio, both Nora and Burke suppressing a giggle as he began to hum along to _Atom Bomb Baby_.

She went back to the parcel on the counter now that Danse had turned away.

 _I’ll just take a peek_.

As she reached for the gift once again, Grogcat jumped up onto the counter and hissed, raising its hackles as it swatted at her hand.

She recoiled and stared at the monstrous cat.

_I guess not everyone cares about my birthday._

Together, they all spent the rest of the day eating, talking, and laughing; enjoying her birthday like she had before the war.

* * *

The sun had set and the cold Commonwealth wind blew through Nora’s hair as she stared up at the stars. Her thoughts went to the wedding ring that she had put away securely in her bedroom, in Nate’s old trunk.

A tap on her back broke her out of her reverie and she turned to find Burke standing behind her, holding out Sentinel, his plush teddy bear. Taking it, she examined the label.

Under his mother’s name, he had scrawled something else, a short name.

“Nora…” she read aloud, facing Burke.

“Since… my mom… y’know, I thought maybe… you-“

His faltering speech was interrupted as Nora embraced him, gripping him tightly as she felt tears sting her eyes in the cold night air. She held him there for a moment, feeling his arms around her.

She released him and he looked to the ground, sniffing and wiping his eyes before he looked up again.

“Thank you, Burke," she said, giving Sentinel back to him and ruffling his hair. “It really means a lot. Now… you wouldn’t be out here trying to stay up past your bed time, right?”

His grin appeared again. She continued.

“Yeah, I thought so. Go on, off to bed.”

She watched him walk back into the house and felt a rush of affection for the boy.

_Am I a Mom again?_

The thought drifted around her mind as she found herself staring into the open doorway. A glint of light shone off the wrapping paper and she remembered her gift, still sat on the countertop.

She walked into the house and saw Danse sitting on the couch, now humming along to _I Don’t Want to Set the World on Fire_ , playing on the radio, interspersed with Travis’ confident news flashes.

“Can I open it now?” she asked, walking over to the counter.

He thought about it for a moment before nodding. Turning down the radio, he watched as she tore open the packaging, her finesse replaced by her desire to see the gift.

She opened the paper to find a small black box, neatly tied with a white ribbon. She opened the ribbon and carefully took the lid from the box.

Inside, laid against a soft sheet of silk, was a ring, silver with glowing blue writing across its face.

“I had a little help from Ingram,” he admitted as she examined the ring, awestruck by its beauty. “Melting down your holotags was simple, but keeping the writing…”

His voice trailed off as he saw a tear roll down Nora’s cheek. Clutching the ring to her chest, she walked quickly to the bedroom, with him following a few moments later, wearing a concerned expression.

She put the ring on her left hand, the finger which already had a line of untanned skin. Looking into the mirror, she flexed her hand left and right, examining each aspect of the ring before reading the writing aloud.

“HR-214K” she said, turning to Danse.

She looked at his face, still showing concern, and the situation overwhelmed her. She crossed the distance between them in what felt like a single step and kissed him.

Taken aback, he pulled away slightly and she moved away.

“Danse, I’m sorry… I-“

He interrupted her with a kiss of his own, pulling her close. She could feel the heat radiating from his body and as their lips met, felt his hand gently caress her cheek, wiping away another tear.

She pulled away slightly and he let her go, though they still held one another close.

“I love you” she said, gazing deep into his eyes.

She found herself kissing him again and they moved towards the bed. Laying down into her usual place, she rested her head on his chest as he lay with his arm around her back.

With his other hand, he moved his fingers through her hair and she felt his chest vibrate as he gave his reply.

“I love you too.”

She lay there, wishing that time would freeze for her once more and she could stay there forever. She thought of Burke, Codsworth, even Grogcat, and the house they all shared. As she drifted away, she realised that she was the happiest she had been in over two hundred years.

She finally had a family again.


End file.
